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'Tis the season for games! Video games are on many holiday wish lists (including mine)! Some of you may even have a couple I SPY games on your lists. If you do, Scholastic has a special treat for all the I SPY gaming fans out there. For the first time ever, Scholastic has released I SPY game packs on Wii and Nintendo DS that offer double the fun with two complete I SPY games in one. The Wii game pack includes Ultimate I SPYand I SPY Spooky Mansion, while the Nintendo DS pack includes I SPY Fun House and I SPY Universe(all rated E).

Did you know that the covers of all the I SPY video games are designed so that you could play I SPY on the cover? It's true! There are numerous objects hidden within each I SPY cover and you could play I SPY on each one. So in honor of the game packs and for some fun (not to mention extra challenge), we've developed two I SPY riddles to solve across the Wii and DS games. Are you up for the challenge?
Yes? Alright! Ready, set, go!

I SPY CHALLENGE #1 Click to enlarge the image.

I spy a horseshoe, a cymbal, a bell, a little red bug, and a brown pot that fell; a tower, a diver, a rocket, a hat, a hidden sailboat, a key, and a rat.

I SPY CHALLENGE #2

Click to enlarge the image.

I spy a jack, two balloons, a drum, a plane, a ringed planet, and a little candy cane;
Two ice cream cones, a dog with a hat; a letter, a snake, two balls, and a cat.

Did you find all the objects? Let us know in the Comments below. And, for extra fun, get creative and write an I SPY riddle of your own using these covers!

The evil puppet you love to hate is back for a new scare in Goosebumps Most Wanted: Son of Slappy by R. L. Stine.

Jack Stander is every parent’s dream. He doesn’t get into trouble; he always does his homework, and he never lies. His teachers all trust him completely. He even volunteers at the local Youth Center. But that was all before Jackson came across an evil ventriloquist dummy. Now he must deal with Slappy as he wreaks havoc on his family and friends. Jackson will soon see that two Slappys are not better than one.

He’s the evil puppet everyone loves to hate! Slappy has been scaring readers since the release Goosebumps: Night of the Living Dummy in 1993. With his painted-on grin and beat up bow-tie, Slappy looks like an ordinary ventriloquist dummy. But looks can be very deceiving. This trouble-making block of wood is anything but dumb! He’s a walking, talking, trash-talking terror!

Think you’re ready for Goosebumps Most Wanted, the most recent series from fright-master R.L. Stine? Well, you’d better be because the paranormal hooligans in these books are on the loose and out to get you! The creepiest, most disgusting, evil favorites from Goosebumps are all here. And they’re up to no good. Nothing is safe!

It’s the haunting season! And you know what that means. . . It’s time to GET GOOSEBUMPS! Goosebumps turns 20 this year and we’re celebrating all month long on the STACKS! 20 years ago Scholastic released the very first Goosebumps book from R.L. Stine called Welcome to Dead House and launched a pop culture phenomenon that has spawned over 300 million books sold worldwide, a terrifyingly terrific TV show, video games, and more! In honor of Goosebumps’ 20th, check out these fun facts about the monstrously
addictive series:

He’s big, he’s red, and he’s oh, so loveable! It’s Clifford, of course. Clifford the Big Red Dog is just as much a part of our childhoods as balloons and ice cream sundaes. Whether you grew up reading the books or watching the TV show, it’s hard not to smile when you think about Clifford. This year, Clifford’s celebrating a very BIG milestone, his 50th birthday! 50 years ago Norman Bridwell painted a picture of a little girl and her big red dog. Little did he know at the time that it would spawn one of the most beloved children’s literary characters of all time!

While Clifford’s birthday is in February, he’s kicking off a birthday party this week that lasts all school-year long! And you know what Clifford wants more than anything for his birthday? A birthday card from YOU! Send Clifford a birthday card and share your personal birthday greetings!

We want to hear from you! Tell us your fondest memories of Clifford in the Comments below!

A Worm-tastic Treat! In celebration of Goosebumps Shriek Week as well as the recently released Go Eat Worms! DVD, try making this terrifyingly squirmy treat to serve up at your next family meal!

Goosebumps Gourmet, Terrfyingly Tasty Worms!
Here’s What You’ll Need:

2 packages of peach or orange gelatin dessert

Gummy worms

A Big Bowl

Here’s What You Do:

Prepare gelatin according to the directions on the box and pour into a bowl. Place in refrigerator.

After about 45 minutes, when the gelatin has started to set, turn gummy creatures upside down and push them into the gelatin. Be careful not to push them too far or leave any part sticking out of the gelatin since you want them to look like they’ve been suspended in amber for millions of years. Replace in refrigerator.

When the gelatin is completely set dip the bowl in warm water to loosen gelatin. Place a plate over the bowl and carefully flip the bowl over so that the dessert is on the plate.

You should have now a big quivering lump of amber, complete with worms! Dig in and enjoy!

It’s the last week of October leading up to Halloween and we’re celebrating all things Goosebumps here on the STACKS.

Goosebumps books are such page-turners and one of the things that makes them so much fun are the monsters, ghouls and villains that R.L. Stine creates to terrorize his characters—and his readers. Now we can learn how to draw the Goosebumps ghouls with a new book that provides step-by-step instructions for our favorite Goosebumps villains. All the fan favorites such as Slappy, the Haunted Mask, Werewolf of Fever Swamp and the Horror are included, plus many others.

Did you know that the basic foundation of all drawings are basic shapes like circles and squares? Very true! And the book teaches you that you need to think of these shapes in 3D to make drawings look realistic. You start out with these basic shapes and work on adding details and refining to create the character drawings. OK, sounds simple enough. I like to think I’m pretty talented. I mean I’m no Picasso but hey, who is, right? Check out my rendition of Slappy. . .
Who’s your favorite Goosebumps ghoul? Tell us in the Comments.

You know when a new gadget comes out and there’s tons of people who wait on line to get their hands on it? Well, I admit I was one of those people when the Wii first came out. I woke up at 2am to camp outside the store until it opened to be one of the first (I was the fifth, in case you’re wondering) to get my hands on a Wii. So it’s pretty cool to have a job creating video games every day!

I SPY Spooky Mansion is Scholastic’s latest Wii game. It is inspired by the best-selling book, I SPY Spooky Night by Jean Marzollo and Walter Wick—who basically started the hidden object craze in the early 90s before “hidden object” even became a game genre. Wii is my absolute favorite platform for I SPY games because we can create a virtual 3D experience versus a flat, 2D experience. Since the setting of I SPY Spooky Mansion is a haunted house, we could make the entire house 3D and have players explore it, making it seem as if you are actually walking through each room in the house.

Last year, thousands of kids (just like you!) entered their BIG Ideas to make their communities better places. Twelve-year-old Madelon’s BIG Idea won a $25,000 grant to create a “Boundless Playground.” Madelon saw a need in her community for the special playground because some of her good friends in wheelchairs couldn’t play with her at a regular playground. Many other kids stepped up to do the same, like Adrianne, who is building sunshades to protect kids from the harmful effects of the sun, and Skyler, who is creating “Kids Care Packs” for children in homeless shelters. Check out the rest of last year’s winning Ideas here.

No idea is too small or too BIG! So tell us what you think; your idea could be NEXT! Visit the BE BIG in Your Community Contest website and let us know about your BIG Idea. But remember, the deadline is June 30th. So grab a parent, teacher or some friends and let us know how YOU can make the world a better place. Get to it; we want to hear from you!